Elevator systems usually have a drive device which is coupled via a supporting cable to a car that can be made to move upward and downward in the vertical shaft. Frequently, the car is also connected via the supporting cable to a counterweight. The car is often driven by means of a driving disk over which the supporting cable is guided. In order to be able to limit the speed of the car in the event of a fault, use is made, in addition to a break acting on the drive of the car, of a separate speed limiter which cooperates with a speed limiter cable arranged in the shaft. The speed limiter is coupled to a gripping device which is arranged on the car. Together with the gripping device, the speed limiter ensures that, independently of the drive and also independently of the brake of the elevator system, the travel of the car is stopped as soon as a predefined speed is exceeded. Accordingly, a speed limiter can also be used to limit the speed of the counterweight connected to the car.
In high-rise buildings, such elevator systems are already required when constructing the building, in order to bring construction workers and material as close as possible to that storey on which the construction work is currently being carried out. To that end, elevator systems are known which are initially installed in a first, already-completed shaft region, such that this shaft region can be served by the elevator system. As construction progresses, the elevator system is moved stepwise upward in the shaft so as to increase that portion of the shaft that can be served by the elevator system. Moving the elevator system into a higher shaft region makes it necessary, inter alia, to also lengthen the speed limiter cable. To that end, it can be provided that the initially-used speed limiter cable is replaced with a longer speed limiter cable. However, this involves considerable cost.
WO 2008/077992 A1 proposes guiding a speed limiter cable around a lower deflection pulley arranged in the pit and around an upper deflection pulley arranged in the temporary machine compartment, and to secure a first end of this cable in a positionally-fixed manner on the car. The second end of the speed limiter cable is wound onto a cable roll which is arranged on the roof of the car. When the temporary machine compartment is moved into a higher shaft region, the effective length of the speed limiter cable can be increased in that a cable section which is required for the lengthening is unwound from the cable roll. A disadvantage of such a configuration is that the weight of the car is increased by the cable roll arranged on the roof of the car and that portion of the speed limiter cable which is wound thereon. This leads to a long-term increase in the energy consumption of the elevator system. Furthermore, in the case of such a configuration, the weight of the car changes when the temporary machine compartment is moved. This in turn makes it necessary to change the counterweight and influences the traction calculations.